Mesh networks are made up of a collection of radio nodes organized into sectors. These nodes use encoding schemes to transmit packets to and through each other using available radio frequency spectrum. The purpose of the mesh is to deliver packets from wireless clients and devices attached to the mesh node, via such technologies as Ethernet, cable, etc., to networks to which the mesh is attached, including other wireless networks, corporate wired networks, the Internet, etc.
Mesh networking allows for the automatic determination of the structure of the mesh network. This allows the mesh network to form and heal itself, rather than to require expensive radio frequency (RF) engineering. In the absence of specific configuration, the access point evaluates many potential points of sector attachment, and also potentially to multiple sectors.
The order of attaching is based on metrics that specify an order of desirability. Access points attempt to optimize a network connectivity map to take advantage of changing RF conditions, new nodes added to the network, react to access points that have been disabled or are no longer accessible, etc.
During the formation of the mesh, access points may create trust relations with each other, and potentially to the wired network, a controller on the wired network, etc. Establishing trust relationships can take considerable time, and the act of failing to establish a connection with a highly valued access point should not prevent the access point from connecting to other available nodes. However, it is also possible that failing to establish a trust relationship with another valuable node is temporal. Network elements required to establish the connection may not be available at the trust establishment time, due to a variety of reasons, including planned and unplanned maintenance intervals. In this instance it is desirable to establish a connection through the most highly valued node at some point in the future.
Establishing connections between nodes in the mesh network is, from a networking perspective, an expensive operation, e.g., when a node cannot access the network, or any resources available through the network, like the Internet. Additionally, any device connected to this node is similarly blocked from accessing the greater mesh network or any resources available through the mesh network.